Differences Between Sleep Apnea and Insomnia

Sleep apnea and insomnia are two different sleep disorders. However, it is easy for sleep disorders like this to get confused. Learn more about each of these disorders and the differences between them below.

What is Sleep Apnea?

Sleep apnea is a sleep disorder that occurs when the upper airway is repeatedly blocked during sleep. This results in the repeated stoppage of breath throughout the night.

Some signs and symptoms of sleep apnea include loud snoring, gasping for air during sleep, difficulty staying asleep, morning headaches, extreme fatigue during the day, trouble concentrating during the day, and more.

Sleep apnea can also lead to more significant health problems because you are missing out on sleep, and sleep is essential to health. Some of the health problems that can stem from sleep apnea include high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, heart problems, liver problems, and more.

If you think you may have sleep apnea, you will want to get it treated right away. This is a serious sleep disorder, and it can lead to other health issues if it is not correctly treated.

What is Insomnia?

Insomnia is another sleep disorder. Insomnia is when a person has extreme difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep. There are a couple of different types of insomnia. The two types of insomnia that people can experience are acute insomnia and chronic insomnia. Acute insomnia is brief and situational. This type of insomnia may occur as the result of a stressful event in a person’s life.

The other type of insomnia, chronic insomnia, is more serious. This is defined as disrupted sleep that happens at least three times a week. Chronic insomnia can have different causes. Some of these causes could be unhealthy sleep habits, certain medications, changes in the environment, and more.

Some symptoms of insomnia include fatigue, low energy, difficulty concentrating, mood disturbances, and more. As you can see, both of these sleep disorders have some similar symptoms. This is because insomnia can occur as a result of someone having sleep apnea. However, these conditions are very different.

Differences Between Sleep Apnea and Insomnia

These sleep disorders are different because of how they are defined. Sleep apnea is when someone’s breathing gets interrupted during sleep, while insomnia is a general difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep. Sleep apnea is a very specific condition. On the other hand, insomnia is a broader term that covers several conditions where people have trouble sleeping.

Another critical difference between these two sleep disorders is the treatment of them. As we discussed above, insomnia is a broader disorder, so treatment is less specific and straightforward. Insomnia can be treated, but there are many different ways to do so. The range of treatments depends on your specific symptoms and issues. Sleep apnea is most commonly treated with a CPAP machine or CPAP therapy.

Sleep apnea and insomnia are both sleep disorders, and sleep apnea can cause someone to have insomnia, but they are distinctly different conditions. Learn more about treating sleep apnea below.

Treating Sleep Apnea

Sleep apnea is most commonly treating with a CPAP machine. CPAP stands for continuous positive airway pressure. A CPAP machine is something you use while sleeping to ensure your airway receives the air and there are no stoppages in your breathing. CPAP machines are great devices, and they work well to treat sleep apnea. However, CPAP machines have to be properly maintained to be sure they are working well for you.

A CPAP machine is something you use every night when you sleep. Because of this, your CPAP machine can collect germs and bacteria. This bacteria can lead to other health issues. That is why it is essential to keep your CPAP machine clean. A dirty CPAP machine can lead to problems such as airway irritation, respiratory infection, skin irritation, a sore throat, and more.

To avoid the problems associated with a dirty CPAP machine, you will want to get a CPAP machine cleaner. You can clean your CPAP machine with soap and water, but a CPAP cleaning device like VirtuCLEAN will get your CPAP machine cleaned faster and easier. VirtuCLEAN CPAP cleaner is a CPAP cleaner and sanitizer that uses ozone to kill 99.9% of bacteria. This CPAP cleaning device can clean your CPAP mask, humidifier, and tubing in just 30 minutes.

Sleep apnea is a sleep disorder that affects a lot of people. This disorder occurs when a person’s breathing repeatedly stops during sleep. It can be confused with insomnia because some of the symptoms are similar, but sleep apnea is a different condition entirely. Sleep apnea is often treated using a CPAP machine, and it is vital to keep your CPAP machine clean for your nightly use. Using a CPAP cleaning device like VirtuCLEAN is a great way to keep your CPAP machine clean, so it can most effectively treat your sleep apnea.